Asteroid with power of 1000 nuclear bombs is moving towards Earth: All you need to know
Image credits: X/@amritabhinder
A colossal space rock about the length of three football fields and a diameter of approximately 335 metres will be moving close to Earth on May 24, 2025.
Known as Asteroid 2003 MH4, the rock is moving through space at the speed of 14 kilometres per second.
Its size and velocity have drawn concerns from the global scientific community with NASA's Center for Near-Earth-Object-Studies (CNEOS) and planetary defense teams tracking its trajectory.
When will Asteroid 2003 MH4 come near Earth?
The asteroid is set to pass at a distance of 6.68 million kilometres from Earth on May 24, 2025, at 10:37 UTC. It will be roughly 17 times closer to Earth than the moon and while this distance might seem far in everyday terms, astronomers consider such proximity significant especially for an object of this size.
Should humans be scared?
Asteroid 2003 MH4 has been classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA). This category is reserved for space objects larger than 150 metres that come within 7.5 million kilometres of Earth. While this does not imply a collision it does require constant monitoring to see if the asteroid's movement changes in the slightest because of the gravitational interaction with planets or subtle Yarkovsky effect from solar radiation.
by Taboola
by Taboola
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A hit from an asteroid this size could unleash energy equal to a thousand nuclear bombs, causing widespread tsunamis, and fires and triggering a global "impact winter"
It also belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids known for their Earth-crossing orbits which can sometimes come too close to Earth. These asteroids are specifically hazardous because they have the ability to come close to Earth and sometimes even crash.
Thus, while the chances of the asteroid hitting Earth seem pretty low, it highlights how important planetary defence initiatives are in monitoring and protecting the planet and its people.
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